There are plenty of other reasons to use Windows. Just because I don't like it, doesn't mean I'm going to make my life more difficult in order to use the tools that I need to use. Gaming is just one aspect, but if you're any way serious about photography for example, Linux is out the window straight away, leaving Windows and Mac. If you want to play the occasional game *and* work on the occasional photo, that means you either put up with Windows for both, or shell out on a second, more expensive high-end machine for doing your other stuff.

There are different levels of these things, I certainly don't enjoy using Windows. But it's a tool, a means to an end, and I do want it for the versatility it offers me as a tool.

As for the original topic, it was certainly a different approach to the mobile world, and as such will have appealed to many people. I wasn't a fan myself, but I do know people who love how it worked. Personally, I always preferred my Nokia N9 to Windows, iOS and Android, and now use its continuation Sailfish as my mobile OS of choice. That's something I'd cling to, and be very sad about having to leave behind for iOS or Android.

Meh. GIMP is alright if you're stuck and learn to put up with the poor UX design choices that tend to plague FOSS. But the problems with photography under Linux aren't as simple as not having Photoshop (which works ok under WINE, by the way). Basically, it's close to impossible to have a colour-controlled workflow - monitor profiling is hit-and-miss, with poor support for colorimeters, and if you profile under Windows, those profiles aren't always supported properly by the Linux drivers, and sometimes involve extensive faff with configuration files. Then, it appears that applications have no way of knowing (or simply don't bother checking) if a profile is already active on the display output, resulting in profiles being applied twice if you're not careful. Most software simply ignores colour accuracy altogether, so you never know if what you're looking at is real or not.

Scanner support is a similar state, and printer support is pretty awful too, with very few printers having drivers from their manufacturers, and FOSS drivers having the same issues as the rest of the workflow when it comes to colour calibration, with poor and incomplete calibration support, and even if they do support calibration, it's useless because they don't support any more advanced printers so the colours aren't applied correctly anyway. Printing under Linux is fine for printing off a boarding pass or an essay for school, but useless for any serious application.

As of December 10, the company will no longer offer security updates for its Windows 10 Mobile system.

A mistake?

The curtain will definitely lower on the Windows 10 Mobile platform. Microsoft has announced on its support page that it will stop security updates as of December 10. The American giant, which has thrown in the towel, is now officially advising its customers to use a competitive smartphone: "With the end of Windows 10 Mobile OS support, we recommend customers switch to an Android or iOS device," the company writes.

This deadline does not mean that mobile devices running on Microsoft's mobile operating system will stop working. They will simply no longer be supported and therefore will no longer be able to receive security updates. Microsoft specifies that only devices eligible for version 1709 of Windows 10 Mobile will receive technical support until December 10. For the Lumia 640 and 640 XL, whose 1703 version was the last compatible, support will stop six months earlier, on June 11, 2019.

However, Microsoft is not drawing a line on mobility and will focus on developing its apps for iOS and Android, such as those in the Office 365 suite. "Microsoft's mission, which is to empower every person and organization on the planet to do more, requires us to support our mobile applications on these platforms and devices," the company explains. (man)

I can understand why people enjoy Windows on the Desktop for sure. But love affairs with Windows Phone I'll never understand. Maybe someone can enlighten me?

Because Google/Android is the most evil company in the world.
Apple have NO clue on making hardware and NO clue on service, they fuck up anyting they touch.
Windows Phone is last resort, and works okish.

That's true. There isn't much more to the phone UI than displaying a grid of icons and maybe a clock The only improvement I find in my current phone is the fingerprint reader.

It could also be that they like them because they lack things

No physical button so you can't answer a call without looking at the screen to know which way to swipe this year...

No headphone jack, so you have to pay 200 EUR to connect headphones

Dumb screen all the way to the edges so you can't pick it up without triggering touch...

Dumb notch destroying the 10+ years old navigation bar paradigm in all apps...

Dumb beveled glass edges prohibiting getting a protective shell, and making the phone like a slippery bar of soap...

Dumb proprietary chips to make simple cables expensive (this would be Apple-only, so far)...

Dumb, thin phones with no room for heat expansion or batteries that last...

Dumb, thin phones with a camera bump...

Phones not usable as phones cos thinness makes it the lowest priority to place the antenna and speaker/mike where real phone companies have put them for decades and instead relying on software to cancel feedback and noise...